Media: Trump a recruiting tool for Islamic State

By Eddie Scarry, Eddie Scarry

Published December 20, 2015

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Commentators this week decided that Donald Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. is a message that will help the Islamic State achieve its goals.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was the latest to make that charge against Trump on Wednesday.

"Trump, by alienating the Muslim world with his call for a ban on Muslims entering America, is acting as the Islamic State's secret agent," Friedman said. "ISIS [an alternate name for the Islamic State] wants every Muslim in America (and Europe) to feel alienated. If that happens, ISIS won't need to recruit anyone. People will will just act on their own."